New Tank

[nrjoeyh]

I have a new fish tank. I filled it with water today and added all the liquids that were advised.
 
I want to put a one year old red oranda in it in a few days and maybe a baby telescope fish. I need some advice - will this cause any harm to the fish and will they be safe if I have not first cycled the tank? I read somewhere that it would help to add lots of plants and clean 10-15 % of the water every few days.
 
Please can someone advise me as I do not want to kill the fish. As silly as this sounds I chose a fish a few weeks ago and feel like I have already built a tiny bond with it, this is why I am keen to put it in soon. 
 
I have a 90l tank, pump and lights.
 
Thank you

 

[cpwebsite]

If you have not cycled it, then yes it will be unsafe. Who was giving you the advise? I recommend daily water changes with a liquid test kit. And exactly what liquids did you put in? Some plants will help and then you need to wait it out, which is why water changes are so useful. Test twice a day (morning & night) or as much as possible and if you ever get any ammonia or nitrite readings do a large (50%+ water change). How big is your tank? 2 goldfish need 29 gallons

 

[DerpPH]

I think your gonna have to cycle it properly because goldfish cant really tolerate high levels of nitrate/nitrite... I suggest you take it out for a while.. try doing a fishless cycle...

 

[nrjoeyh]

The conditioner and cycle liquids.

It is a 90litre/20 gallon tank.

I have done the ph/nitrate/nitrite tests. Ph is 7.6, ammonia was 0.5, nitrite was 0 and nitrate was 5. I am remembering those levels from memory so may hAve mixed them up. They didn't seem too far off normal anyway.

When you put fish in how much does it fluctuate the readings? Is it not ok to put goldfish in if the levels are all ok in a few days?

When you change the water do you mix the conditioner in before you add it to the tank and do you need to leave it to settle before adding it?

Thanks again.

And I added 3 plants today.

 

[TallTree01]

A 20gallon isn't big enough for goldfish anyway.

 

[Joshwainwright]

Hi, welcome to the forum! 

Thankfully, you've joined us before your fish die because cycling your tank really is essential. Otherwise, you're going to end up with a high ammonia reading which will kill your fish. Cycling is essentially building a colony of bacteria which will live off the ammonia in your tank which is produced by your fish and waste. The bacteria will change your toxic ammonia into nitrite however unfortunately, this is also bad for your fish and will kill them. Fortunately though, another colony of bacteria will grow which will live off of the nitrite in your tank, changing it into nitrate. Nitrate is generally harmless to fish, unless of course you end up with a REALLY high reading. This can be kept under control with regular water changes.
 
Anyway, I recommend that you try and re-home your fish and go though a fishless cycle by purchasing a bottle of pure ammonia. However, if this isn't possible then you're going to have to go through the laboring process off a fish-in cycle where you will be required to do regular, large water changes to keep the levels under control. You will also have to take readings for ammonia a couple of times a day to ensure they are not building up too much.
 
So yeah, the best thing would be to either take your current fish back or find an established tank for them so you can carry out a fishless cycle.
 
As for adding MORE fish, that's a definite no no until your tank is cycled